In a Vase: Three Times Three

This week we are celebrating the third anniversary of the "In a Vase on Monday" theme with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

For the occasion she set a theme of "three". I decided to combine three sets of three flowers, based on color and, more loosely, type. Earlier I had ambitions of creating
three separate vases, but I decided that was a bit beyond my energy level as I'm still getting over the flu. So today's arrangement is a threefold celebration, but in one vase.

First of all, there are the three different colors of lantana, which are all in bloom right now.

There is the common orange and yellow type, which was already here when we moved in. It has formed large mounds beneath the two palm trees at the back of the patio.

There is the white lantana, planted last spring in the White and Silver Garden. It has also spread rapidly and vigorously.

And there is the darker variety, "Denver Red", from the East Border. It was a slower starter, but is now blooming and growing fairly well and will probably spread as tenaciously as the
other two soon. From a distance it is not so easily distinguished from the basic orange and yellow, but the hue of the outer flowers is a little redder.

All three can be spotted in this view of the vase.

Next there is a threesome of red to orange trumpet flowers. I had plenty to choose from as I have emphasized hummingbird plants in the garden, and red trumpets are usually favorites with
the little creatures. For this vase I picked Justicia californica, just coming into bloom...

...Russelia equisetiformis "Big Red"...

...and Cuphea ignea "Vermillionaire", which is blooming well since I thinned some of the overgrown plants nearby. It is proving another excellent choice for the hummingbirds.

Here they are all together.

The last set of three consists of yellow or orange composites.

The wonderful Berlandiera lyrata is still sending out blooms, as it did throughout the spring and summer.

There are flowers from Chrysactinia mexicana, which is putting on a fine show for autumn. Despite being generally described as a spring-blooming plant, it is covered in its tiny
yellow daisies now.

And there are orange zinnias, courtesy of my sister's container garden on the patio.

I have used my handbuilt earthenware vase, a simple container to hold all nine different types or colors of flowers!

Congratulations to Cathy on three years of her lovely meme, which has encouraged so many of us to bring flowers indoors from the garden! I, for one, was always terribly reluctant to cut
flowers, but it has proven such a pleasure and a natural extension of the garden into the house!

What a lovely take on the Three theme - the end result works very well together in your beautifully spherical vase (how did you manage to shape it so perfectly?!). The lantanas in your garden sound
gorgeous, all that spreading colour and even though I expected them not to be hardy in the UK it seeems that they can be so perhaps I will look into growing them as they have such beautiful colours.
Thanks for your contribution, as always

Cathy - I do hope you try the lantana if you have any reasonably protected spot. Ours is blackened by a few degrees of frost each winter, but it comes back quite reliably. Just now it is a butterfly
paradise (see my most recent post ;-) It seems to be the preferred butterfly flower here, so is worth growing for that alone!

Your vase is stunning Amy! The lantana are so pretty, and having three of each flower is such a clever idea. I especially love how you have placed the yellow daisy in the whole arrangement as a focal
point. Gorgeous! :)

Thank you very much, Cathy :) I'm always surprised at how much impact the Berlandiera daisies have in a vase. Their long, wiry stems work well, and besides it's nice to have that chocolate scent
drifting around the room... ;-)